Saving Grace
by divergentarcher
Summary: As Katniss goes through her life taking care of her sister and trying to take care of herself she may need a little help on the way, that help and joy can only come from her saving grace. ALL RIGHTS AND CHARACTERS BELONG TO SUZANNE COLLINS
1. Chapter 1

Katniss comes into her house quietly, not wanting to disturb her little sister, Prim. Once the door is shut Katniss hears a small cough from the living room. She curses silently and goes in.

"Prim, you should really be asleep. You have your first day of school tomorrow," Katniss says setting her stuff down. She looks around and notices Prim had cried.

"Katniss... Tate broke up with me... I just can't fall asleep, Can I sleep with you tonight?" She asks. Even though Prim was 16 already she did have her strange bursts of being a sweet child again.

"Of course. You still have to go to school tomorrow though, no boy is worth missing out on a good education."

She nods and heads to my room in the small two bedroom apartment. I go to the bathroom and shower trying to wash off the smell of cigarettes from me. I hate my job.

* * *

In the morning, Prim's phone goes off as the signal for them both to wake up. Katniss offers Prim help to get ready and she accepts smiling despite her broken heart. Katniss does a soft touch of makeup on Prim's delicate face. Next, Katniss gathers Prim's golden hair in her hands and begins to section off the pieces to curl the naturally straight hair.

"When Tate sees you today, don't let him get to you. Let him see how well you are without him," Katniss says when she notices Prim's nervousness.

"Okay. Katniss?" She asks looking at Katniss in the mirror.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for everything."

Katniss smiles and says, "You are very welcome, now go and get dressed in what I picked out while I get ready."

Katniss braids her hair as Prim goes to her own room. Katniss gets dressed in her traditional clothes, Dark skinny jeans and a dark green V neck that was just baggy enough to hide her small frame. She puts on socks and her hunting boots, she pulls on her dad's old hunting jacket and goes to wait for Prim.

When she does, Katniss looks at her perfect sister. Prim wears form fitting-light jeans with a few pre-ripped holes in them, She wore a light blue blouse that brought out her dull blue eyes.

"You look amazing. Trust me, When Tate sees you his heart will stop," Katniss says smiling.

She smiles and Katniss drives her to school. Katniss goes to a coffee shop and sits at a table reading from a magazine and sipping her tea she had ordered. She gets the strange feeling that someone was looking at her so she glances around and her eyes land on a guy with blonde hair. He was sitting with two other guys and when she looked he looked away embarrassed. There were two other girls with them, both sitting on either side of the boy.

She gets up and goes to throw away her cup as she leaves. Outside, she shoots one more glance inside to see the man that had been looking at her, looking a little sad. Katniss rolls her eyes and walks down to car.

Once she is home she goes on her laptop and turns on her favorite show. She continues to watch it until 3:30 when she needs to leave to go pick up Prim. Katniss waits in the parking lot bored for 30 minutes before the kids start coming outside in groups, She looks to the car next to her's and sees the same guy from the coffee shop.

He glances over and gives a small smile. Katniss nods but doesn't smile. She see's a girl around 18 climb into the man's car, Katniss shakes her head and continues to wait for Prim.

* * *

Once they get home Prim is on her phone texting and laughing. Katniss already knows that the little girl is gone again and Katniss has to go back to being a mother figure to her younger sister.

Katniss goes to walk down the hall and isn't looking where she is going and bumps into the same guy from earlier. Katniss bends down to pick up her quarters that had fell out of her hands. He helps.

"Hey," he says smiling, "I'm Peeta."


	2. Chapter 2

Katniss hears the erotic music as she gets ready for her show at the Seam, the local strip joint. She gets dressed in her skimpy outfit and reminds herself she is doing this for Prim. As she waits for herself to be called she thinks about Peeta who she had met a few hours before, she had no clue what to think. He looked nice but who were those girls at the coffee shop? and at the school?

Katniss thought he was a player, for all she knew he was. When she heads on the stage all the men in the crowd call out to her. She starts dancing and then gets off stage as quick as she can. She pulls on her sweat pants and baggy shirt then her boots.

Most girls at the Seam were not cared for, in fact, there was only one girl who was protected and that happened to be the star girl, Clove. Katniss grabs a drink from the back even though she was only 19.

* * *

She walks into the apartment building's hallway and is over come with the need to puke she staggers toward her apartment but slams into someone else's door. She slides down onto the floor and hits her head on the door nob, she throws up on herself. The next thing Katniss knows it is morning and she is not in her room, or even her apartment.

She jolts up and finds herself in someone else's shirt and a tight pair of jeans, her hair is now in a pony tail. Katniss reaches for her phone on the nightstand and sees a text from Prim.

_Katniss! You never came home last night! I hope you are okay... I made it to school. Please be okay and text me when you see this._

She does telling Prim she was fine and she would pick her up from school. Katniss gets up quietly and can't find her shoes, she looks around nervously and sees a pile of cash on the nightstand too. She reaches for it when a door opens. She pulls her hand back to her body as Peeta comes in carrying a tray with some pancakes on it.

"I'm glad you are up. I made you some breakfast if you are even up to eating after hitting your head that hard," he says setting the tray down.

"What happened last night?" She asks cautiously.

"Well, you had bumped into my door then you slid down and hit your head on the nob and threw up. You passed out after that, So I brought you in and took care of you with the help of my cousin. Those are her jeans by the way. She said you could keep them."

She nods then sits and eats the pancakes. When he leaves the room she looks at the money again thinking of how she needs it. She ends up just leaving and going back to her apartment.

When Prim gets out of school, she runs and hugs Katniss.

"Why didn't you come home?" She asks.

"My job."

"Quit, Please."

"I can't."

Katniss's heart breaks. She takes Prim home then leaves for work again.


	3. Chapter 3

By Saturday, Katniss has already gotten a bruise on her head and went to go find a second job.

"Katniss, if this job pays more, will you please quit your other one?" Prim begs as she walks with Katniss to the coffee shop for her sister's interview.

"Yes, I promise," Katniss says genuinely as she opens the door for Prim.

In the interviewing room, Katniss notices the mostly bare, white walls. The few pictures that were up consisted of still life paintings, this room looked like most of the rest of the shop. Soon the manager walks in and takes a seat behind her desk. Katniss looks at the name plate, Mrs. Coin.

"Hello Miss. Everdeen, I hear you would like to apply for a full time job here at Capitol Coffee. What makes you think you can handle this job?" Mrs. Coin asks looking me over.

"Well, I really need a good full time job to support my sister and I. Our mother isn't in the picture and our father died about seven years ago. As you can imagine we really need the money. I am willing to work whatever hours you need me to work."

She nods thinking for a moment then says, "We will let you know."

Katniss nods and leaves, Prim and her look at the empty fridge then before Katniss can stop her, Prim runs across the hall and knocks on Peeta's door.

He opens the door and says, "Hi, Prim, what do you need?"

"You see, our fridge is empty and we don't have enough money for dinner right now, due to the bills and school fees we have to pay. Do you think we could have dinner with you?"

"Prim, I would love to have you two for dinner but, I was thinking of eating out today. You guys are more then welcome to come and eat with me, I can pay."

"Thank you Peeta!" Prim says just as Katniss catches up. Katniss holds her stomach.

Prim tells Peeta they will be back in a few minutes before leading Katniss away.

"Prim, I need to tell you something that I'm not proud of okay?" Katniss says.

"Okay...?" She says uneasily.

"I'm Pregnant," Katniss says quietly.

Prim looks shocked but she holds Katniss anyway.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. I'll help out. Are you still going too take the job if they say yes?"

Katniss nods, "I just wish you hadn't gone and asked him for help. I don't want to sound desperate... i have a crush on him. I already talked to the baby's dad and he said he didn't care about me or the baby. Prim, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay."

Katniss's phone begins to ring and she answers it, "Hello?"

"Katniss, Gale was going behind my back and not telling me everything so I broke up with him. Do you think that is okay?" Her friend Madge says.

"No, he really liked you, Madge."

She hears the line go dead then a knock at the door.

Katniss grabs her bag and they all go out to dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

A few months later Katniss is showing that she is pregnant. She finds out she can't do it all by herself with supporting so many people. She walks in the bathroom and locks the door. She calls Prim to tell her: "Stay with Peeta tonight. He'll take care of you. Prim, I love you and I'm doing this for all of our own good."

She hangs up and begins to cut herself. She hears a pounding on the bathroom door.

"Katniss!"

It is a male voice. Peeta.

The door opens and he helps her. Trying to shush her and stop the bleeding. Without asking he begins to touch her stomach.

"Daddy doesn't want me or our baby girl..." Katniss whispers.

"Kat, hey, hey," Peeta says tucking hair behind her ear.

She starts sobbing, "We aren't good enough."

"You are, You are perfect," Peeta says quietly before kissing her softly. He carries her to his car and puts her in the seat before driving to the Hospital.

* * *

When Katniss next wakes up she feels a rough, but sort of soft hand holding hers along with short hairs tickling her hand.

she hears prim say, "Peeta, come on you should go home and clean up before work. She'll still be here when you come back I promise."

She feels his warm hand leave hers then a quick kiss to her head and the door shut.

Around an hour later she still can't force her eyes to open so she just sits there listening to the tapping sounds coming from Prim's phone she can only guess. Then she hears the door open again._  
_

"Has she woken up yet?" Asks Peeta. His voice sounds raw and Katniss can only guess he had bags under his eyes.

"Nope, are you sure she'll be alright? And her baby too?" Prim asks worriedly.

"I'm sure, Prim. Your sister is a fighter." He chuckles slightly.

Katniss's eyes strain to open. Once they do a few minutes later she sees Peeta in a doctors outfit and looking at the machines next to her. Prim squeaks.

Peeta glances down and relief washes over his face. "hey, you, look who decided to join us! Welcome back, you ready to check on the baby?"

Katniss nods and Peeta gets her ready. They see it's a little girl and she looks fine, heartbeat normal. Katniss looks relived too.

Before she knows it Prim and her are home again.

"You know what Peeta called you, Katniss?" Prim says as she sits next to her sister.

"What, little duck?"

"Saving grace."

"Why?"

"Because he said when he first saw you he knew that you would save him from a monster in his mind."

This was news to Katniss. if only he knew that he was more of a saving grace than anyone.


	5. Chapter 5

It was around three years after Willow was born and Peeta moved in to help Katniss out before Willow runs up to Katniss.

"Mama! Daddy told me what da scars mean!" she says as Katniss picks her up.

"PEETA HOW COULD YOU?!" Katniss calls out to him.

"Daddy said dat they meant you were an angel... You didn't like it down here so you tried to go back to God. Mama is dat true?"

"Yes baby, it is."

Katniss knew for sure now. Willow, Prim, and Peeta were her saving grace.


End file.
